Painting Mentorship with Kathleen

Know Where to Focus

to Keep Growing as an Artist

You love painting, and you want to keep getting better.

But as you grow as an artist, it can be hard to know where your attention will make the biggest difference.

Should you be working on color? Value? Drawing? Composition? Staying with one medium? Painting more? Taking another class?

Painting Mentorship with Kathleen is for hobby painters who want personal guidance about what deserves their attention now.

Over seven weeks, I'll help you:

• see where you are as an artist,
• identify the skills that will make the biggest difference,
• and recognize what your paintings need next—

so you can move forward with more certainty in the decisions you make.

Becoming an Artist Is a Little Tricky

There isn't one path every artist follows.

And there shouldn't be.

Because ultimately, we are each trying to develop our own way of seeing and expressing what matters to us.

Our subjects. Our colors. Our marks.

Our way of looking at the world.

That makes learning art different from learning something where everyone follows the same steps.

Of course, every painter benefits from strong fundamentals.

But as you grow, a more personal question begins to matter:

What deserves my attention now?

That's difficult to see from inside your own work.

You might take a wonderful color class when value is actually the thing that would make the greatest difference.

You might work on brushwork when composition deserves your attention first.

You might keep moving from medium to medium when the medium isn't really the problem.

The things you're learning may all be useful.

They just may not be what you need right now.

That's where mentoring can help.

The Final Straw

A sweet artist recently wrote asking whether I offered mentoring.

She said: "I am looking for guidance on continuing the journey."

And then:

"Maybe an overall assessment of where my work is currently and ideas for furthering growth. Strengths and weaknesses. Places you would suggest more exploration?"

I wanted to help, and I thought, I could offer this to other artists as well.

She wasn't asking me for another painting lesson.

She was really asking:

Where am I?

What deserves my attention?

What would make the biggest difference now?

That is the heart of this mentorship.

The Elements Give You a Foundation.

Your Work Grows From There.

Every artist benefits from understanding the same basic things:

Line · Shape · Value · Color · Space · Texture · Form

But how those things come together in your paintings will be uniquely yours.

That's why I use the seven Elements of Art as the foundation for our work together.

They give us a common language for looking at your paintings without giving you a formula for how your paintings should look.

Instead of simply thinking:

Something isn't right.

We can begin asking: 

Is the value working?

 Are the shapes clear?

What is happening with the color?

Where is the eye going?

The Elements give you something concrete to look at.

Mentoring helps you see how those Elements apply specifically to your work.

Why I Created This Mentorship

Hi, I'm Kathleen.

I'm a professional artist and teacher who has been painting for 40 years, but I was a hobby painter for about 25 years first, fitting it in around a full life the same way you probably do. 

In my late 40s, I became an elementary art teacher.

Every day I taught my students the same seven ideas — line, shape, value, color, space, texture, and form.

And something unexpected happened: those simple ideas changed the way I saw my own paintings. I started seeing shapes instead of objects. Value before color.

I began understanding why something wasn't working, instead of just knowing that I didn't like it.

That discovery became my own painting process and eventually, it became Essential Elements, the framework I now teach to adult painters.

Over the past ten years, I've taught hundreds of students online, led workshops for art leagues across the South, and spent seven years running my own gallery, CHROMA, on 30A. My own fine art is represented today by Ria Leigh Gallery in Grayton Beach, Florida.

But across all of it, what I keep coming back to is this: sometimes you need more than the lesson.

Sometimes you need an experienced artist looking at your painting and saying:

Look here.

This is already working.

And this is where I'd put your attention next.

That's what I want this mentorship to provide.

How the 7 Weeks Work

This is the founding group for this offer, so I will be accepting no more than 10 artists in the group.

That's intentional.

I want to have enough time and space to really know your work, notice your patterns, and see what's changing as we go.

1. Know Where You're Starting

We'll Start with a Private Starting Point Artist Assessment

Before we begin, we'll meet privately and look at several examples of your work.

We'll identify what's already working, what your concerns are, and the areas that deserve your attention next.

You'll begin with a clearer answer to:

Where am I now, and what should I concentrate on as I begin the Essential Elements videos.

2. Build a Way to Think Through Your Paintings

Essential Elements

You’ll receive my complete Essential Elements course. 

Over seven weeks we’ll work through:

Line → Shape → Value → Color → Space → Texture → Form

These Elements give us a common language and a repeatable way to look at paintings.

They give you something to turn to when you know something isn’t quite right but aren’t sure why.

3. Work Through It Together

Each week we'll meet live on Zoom with our small group.

We'll talk through what you're learning, answer questions, look more closely, and connect the teaching to real paintings.

You'll also learn from the questions and work of the other artists in our small group.

Sometimes seeing what is happening in someone else's painting makes your own much easier to understand.

4. Know What Your Painting Needs Next

7 Personal Painting Reviews

Each week, you'll submit one painting, work in progress, or completed exercise.

I'll send you a private 10–15 minute video response showing you:

• what I see working
• where I see an opportunity
• what I would pay attention to
• what I would work on next

When it helps, I'll draw directly over your painting to show you what I'm seeing.

So that you begin recognizing those things for yourself.

5. Know Where to Go From Here

Final Private Artist Assessment + Personal Artist Growth Plan

At the end of our seven weeks, we'll meet privately again.

We'll look at where you began, what's changed, what strengths are emerging, and what still deserves attention.

Then I'll give you a personal Artist Growth Plan identifying the two or three areas I believe will make the biggest difference in your continued growth.

So you don't finish wondering:

Okay... now what?

Your Painting Time Matters

Most of us don't have endless hours to paint.

Painting fits around family, work, travel, responsibilities, and life.

So when you do have time at the easel, you want that time to count.

The goal of this mentorship isn't to make you grow faster for the sake of speed.

It's to help you use your painting time with more purpose.

Instead of trying to improve everything at once, you'll have a better idea of what deserves your attention now.

What Could You Do Instead?

You could keep figuring it out on your own. And you will certainly continue learning that way.

But it can take a long time to recognize something in your own work that you haven't yet learned to see.

You could take another course or workshop.

You may learn something wonderful—but the teacher still has to decide what the whole class needs to learn.

You could simply keep painting and figuring things out. 

Mentorship offers something different:

An experienced artist looking directly at your work and helping you see where your attention will make the greatest difference.

Why do it all by yourself?

The Goal Is to Make Your

Own Decisions More Easily

At first, I may notice something before you do.

I may point to a value, a shape, an edge, or a color relationship.

But over time, I want those questions to become yours.

What's Included

• Private Starting Point Artist Assessment
• Complete Essential Elements Course
• 7 Weekly Live Small-Group Mentorship Sessions
• 7 Private Personal Painting Reviews
• Final Private Artist Assessment
• Personal Artist Growth Plan
• Lifetime access to your Essential Elements course and mentorship resources

And each Monday, I'll send you a short audio note with something I'd like you to think about as you begin another week of painting.

Your Investment

Painting Mentorship with Kathleen

A payment link will be sent once your application is approved. Because the mentorship is limited to 10 artists, your place will be held for 48 hours. Payment in full or your first installment will secure your spot. After 48 hours, I may need to offer the place to another applicant.

If you were working with me privately week after week—meeting one-on-one, having your paintings reviewed, and receiving personal direction—the investment would be considerably higher.

I've chosen a small-group format because it allows you to benefit from the reduced price while giving me the structure to give each artist personal attention.

And the chance to learn from the questions and paintings of other artists who are growing right alongside you.

Is This Mentorship Right for You?

This mentorship is designed for hobby painters who have been painting for a while and want to keep growing.

It may be especially helpful if you:

• aren't always sure where to put your attention
• know when something in a painting isn't quite right but can't always see why
• have taken classes and workshops but want help applying what you've learned to your own work
• want an experienced artist looking closely at your paintings
• want to know both your strengths and where your attention would make the biggest difference
• want more certainty in the painting decisions you make

Honest note: this mentorship isn't the right starting point if you're a complete beginner. In our weekly reviews, I'll be talking with you about your work using the language and ideas Essential Elements teaches, so if you haven't been through that material yet, I'd genuinely recommend starting there first to build your foundation. Please ask me about that alternative if you think it's right for you. 

A Good Fit Matters

This mentorship is intentionally small because I want to get to know you, understand your work, and give you personal guidance throughout our time together.

That's also why joining begins with an application.

I want to understand where you are in your painting journey, what you're hoping to learn, and whether I believe this mentorship can genuinely help you move forward.

And I want you to have the same opportunity.

Come to the first week.

Experience the mentorship, meet the other artists, and see how we work together.

If by the end of that first week you realize this isn't the right fit for you, simply let me know and I'll refund your tuition.

After that first week, we'll move forward together into the more personal work.

I want this to be a good fit for both of us.

We Begin September 28, 2026

Applications close Friday, September 18th, or as soon as all 10 spots are filled.

I can accept only 10 artists because I'll personally be reviewing each artist's work throughout our seven weeks together.

Once those places are filled, enrollment will close. Apply now and I will get back to you in 48 hours.

One Last Thought

There is no one right way to become an artist.

We all notice different things.

We're drawn to different subjects.

We paint differently.

And eventually, that individuality is exactly what leads to our own unique expression.

But your growth doesn't have to feel random.

There are skills you can strengthen.

Things you can learn to see.

And sometimes an experienced set of eyes can help you understand which of those things matters most for you, right now.

That's what I hope these seven weeks give you.

Not a formula.

A clearer understanding of where to focus as you continue growing as an artist. 

I look forward to joining you on your artist's path.